Off By Heart
by abandonyourdefenses
Summary: When Rhiannon Foskey moves to England from the United States and starts attending Hogwarts, she befriends Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But what they don't know is that Rhiannon has a few skeletons in her closet as well... Harry x OC but otherwise canon. Trying to stick with the books, starts at HBP.


Off By Heart

By: abandonyourdefenses

All my life, my mother told me I had a special gift. She would kneel before me, bore her icy blue gaze into mine, and say, "Rhiannon Micah, you have something extraordinary. You have the power to make a man come apart at the sound of your singing voice. One day, you'll be able to relish your power and turn men into the weak little maggots they are."

I didn't really understand then, but I do now.

My father left us when my mother was pregnant with me. Being a siren is genetic, so mama has my gift as well. Ever since daddy left, she swore she would never love again, but toys mercilessly with the hearts of the Muggle men she sings for at her occasional gigs in the city. Yeah, we're witches, too. My dad was a wizard as well. I never resented being a witch, but I detest being a siren. It's a curse. I can't sing whenever I feel like it because of the effects it has on any male's listening ears. I love to sing almost more than anything… but I have to hold back because of the price it comes with.

Everything has always been about my mother. She never cared what happened to others as long as she got what she wanted in the end.

And now, once again, she's doing what she wants and not giving a damn how others may feel about it. She has grown bored of the men in Maryland, so she's making us up and leave. We're moving to England. And I have to leave my boyfriend behind, as well as my school, and the friends I've known for years.

I'm trying to be positive and think of this as an opportunity to experience something new, but the silver lining is obscured from view by a mass of storm clouds.

It devastates me to have to leave Justin. I'm not in love with him (even though he claims he is with me) but I do love him and care for him deeply.

Today is the last day I'll be able to smell the smell of this side of the Atlantic Ocean and Thrasher's French fries, so I'm taking the chance to spend the day in Ocean City with Justin. Ocean City is about a half hour drive away from the small town I live in, called Salisbury.

Me and my mom pretend to be Muggles, so we know how to drive and all that. I just got my license about a month ago, and my mother allowed me to borrow her car for the day.

I hold Justin's hand as we walk down the boardwalk, sharing pink cotton candy. I never liked living in Salisbury, but if there's anything I'll miss about the Eastern Shore, it'll be Ocean City.

We walk silently towards the beach and sit in the sand, letting the tide wash over our sandy feet.

"I can't believe this is goodbye." Justin murmurs.

I take his chin and turn his head so he's looking at me with those hazel eyes I know so well. "It won't be goodbye forever. It's just goodbye for now." But even I struggle to find the truth behind my words. What if I meet someone at my new school? It would definitely be an amazing feeling to not have to hide who I truly am, not have to lie to Justin about my schooling. As far as he knows, I was homeschooled. But I really went to a wizarding school called Elizabeth Cabot's Institute for Witchcraft & Wizardry. But of course, I would always have to hide the siren part of me… at least until I married. It would just be nice to not have to hide being a witch, too.

My mother had informed me that I would be a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, a boarding school. I would finally be away from my mom. I'm very fed up with her selfishness.

"I hope." Said Justin, and turned again to stare into the horizon, the wind whipping his dirty blonde hair. "It's gonna kill me, you leaving. I love you with all my heart."

A lump formed in my throat and tears threatened to spill over my eyelids, but I blinked them back. "I love you too."

For the rest of the evening, we stared at the ocean in silence, wondering what the future had in store for us… if there even was an 'us' in the future.

The next day, as I boarded the airplane to England, I looked out the window as I left the place I had called home for 16 years. I hated Salisbury, yet I didn't want to leave it. I think Justin is why. And my family. If I didn't have social ties I would have no problem leaving this hellhole.

I put in my headphones and listened to the music I had my friend Alyssa download onto this Muggle contraption called an iPod. The tune was called "Two Princes" by the Spin Doctors. The upbeat tune soon turned into a softer one – "Lullaby" by the Spill Canvas – and I rested my head against the window and soon fell into a fitful sleep, filled with dreams of the ghosts of my past, which only came back to life in my subconscious.

I awoke with my mother shaking me, telling me we had arrived in London. She had used a simple reducing charm on all of our belongings so that we could fit everything we owned into only a few bags. She was quite an extraordinary witch.

When the taxi cab brought us to our new flat, my mother immediately put everything back to their normal sizes and arranged the furniture to fit the layout of the flat. I had a bathroom to myself. I was quite pleased at this.

She arranged my room how I wanted it, and when she was done, she grabbed my shoulder and said, "This is our home now. You'll get used to it. And I think you'll rather like Hogwarts." She had gone to Hogwarts as a little girl, but had moved to America when Dad left. "The Headmaster is coming for dinner, he is a very old, very dear friend of mine. Will you join us so we can discuss your education?"

I nodded stiffly and she kissed my cheek. She then left the room, leaving me to stand in the middle of it as I let one small tear glide down my cheek for the first time in years. I wiped it away angrily and changed into the appropriate attire for dinner – a cream colored ¾ length shirt with skinny jeans, and my favorite beaded necklace with my usual numerous bracelets and rings. I love accessories. I didn't bother down my makeup. I hardly ever bothered with it anymore. I used to do it even when I wasn't going anywhere, but I'm more comfortable in my own skin now.

A faint popping sound signaled the arrival of my new Headmaster, and I descended the stairs to greet him.

A wizened old man stood before me in robes of a brilliant aquamarine – bringing out his twinkling blue eyes. His hair and beard flowed far past his waist and were a shocking white. I gasped as I saw his right hand – it looked almost dead. It was blackened and scary looking, but I bit back my questions, not wanting to come across as rude.

"Rhi, this is Albus Dumbledore, Dumbledore, this is my beloved daughter, Rhiannon." My mother introduced us.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rhiannon," he said with a smile. "I do hope you will enjoy your next two years at Hogwarts."

I smiled back politely and said, "If you tell me more about it, I might be more keen on going."

I didn't think it possible, but his eyes twinkled even more so. "Curious, just like her mother."

Mom beamed and showed him into the dining room, where she had vegetable soup awaiting us. The old Foskey recipe and quite possibly my favorite.

As we helped ourselves to the delicious food, Dumbledore spoke. "At Hogwarts, we teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, History of Magic – all the necessities. And then we also teach Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Divination. We have four houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will be sorted on your first day among the first years. The house you get sorted in will be like your family. You will have classes with them, eat at mealtimes with them, and room with them. Your mother was a Ravenclaw herself." he looked to my mother and gave her a kind smile when he said this. "All four houses have their own Quidditch team and they all are exceptionally good, so feel free to join your house's team."

I brightened up at this. "I played Quidditch at my old school. I was a Chaser."

"And she was Captain." My mother said proudly.

"Marvelous. What subjects would you say you excel at, Miss Foskey?"

"Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, I think. We didn't have Care of Magical Creatures at Cabot's, what's that like?"

"The gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, is the teacher of the class. You learn about how to take care of a large variety of magical creatures – unicorns, hippogriffs, Blast-Ended Skrewts – the like. A very hands on class." He said, smiling.

"That sounds interesting." I quipped. I rather liked this man. He was kind hearted, with an air about him that told me he'd seen many things in his lifetime. It surprised even myself to say, but I was beginning to truly like the sound of Hogwarts. "Hogwarts sounds like a great school." I said.

He awarded me with a kind smile and said, "I know I rather enjoyed my time there as a student, as a Transfiguration teacher, and now Headmaster. But this year, we have extra protection placed around the school… I'm sure you Americans know of the Dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort."

Memories of tortured screaming and a green flash of light fled unbidden into my mind, but I pushed them away. I tried to repress them whenever possible. I merely gulped and nodded at Dumbledore, answering for my mother – who, like myself, hadn't talked about that awful night since it had happened.

"Well, he has risen to power once more –"

"WHAT?" I screamed. I couldn't control my emotions any longer. How had I not known about this before?

"Mom? Did you know about this?" I pierced her with my best glare and – knowing my mother – I was quite sure I already knew the answer.

She refused to look at me, instead staring down into her empty soup bowl. "Sweetie, what you must understand is –"

"No, I won't understand one bit! I'm tired of your so-called 'good intentions'. I know all you care about is yourself and what you gain from your actions, but I never thought your egocentric ways were so deep seated that you wouldn't bother telling me that the reason why my grandparents are dead is back at it again!" my mother was speechless and had not lifted her gaze from the depths of her soup bowl. I then remembered Dumbledore's presence and flushed with color, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Professor." I said quietly.

"While I agree that you should have been informed beforehand, don't judge your mother too harshly, Rhiannon. I'm sure her intentions weren't entirely narcissistic. Now, Geraldine, I will leave your company. Thank you for your hospitality and delightful vegetable soup, it's the best recipe I've tasted! And don't forget to take Rhiannon to Diagon Alley as soon as possible to fetch her school things – the start of term is only two weeks away!" despite my outburst, his twinkling eyes and amiable demeanor never left him. He got up from the dining room table and patted me on the shoulder. "Stay sharp." He said with a wink. With a pop, he was gone.

I just stood there for a minute, hot blood racing through my veins, my heart practically beating out of my chest, trying to find the right words to say.

Finally I choked out, "why didn't you tell me?"

She finally lifted her gaze from the bowl and looked me directly in the eyes, her icy blue orbs sincere. "I know how much it hurt you when the Death Eaters tortured and killed Mom Mom and Pop Pop for information. Telling them to join or die – so I kept it secret. I care about you so much, Rhi. I was actually planning on telling you before you left for school, I knew you would eventually find out in England, the place he terrorizes the most… do you really see me as such a narcissist?"

I turned my back to her as the tears threatened to spring from my eyes yet again. Since when did Rhiannon Foskey cry?

"I don't know what I see you as anymore." And I slowly retreated up the stairs and to my room, where my dark past awaited me in my sleep, haunting me for all eternity.

**A/N: Well, I haven't written any fanfiction in a long time, so please bear with me. I have a pretty good idea of how I want this story to turn out, but if anyone would like to give me ideas, they are welcome! Please be nice when reviewing. Thank you for reading.**


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